By Chuck Myers
Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Just think what it would be like to receive, as a gift, an authentic drawing by the legendary Michelangelo.

Now, imagine accepting it directly from the master himself.
Seem impossible?

Not so for a fortunate few, who lived in Renaissance Italy nearly 500 years ago.

During his lifetime, it was not uncommon for Michelangelo to create and pass on his finely drafted works to friends and intimates, as a sign of enduring affection.

These treasures were not only prized by their owners, but also by other artists of the time, who were afforded the opportunity to study their superb imagery and draftsmanship.

Today, at the National Gallery of Art, Michelangelo's drawings and a bevy of works based on them by other Renaissance artists are again available to be viewed and enjoyed, thanks to their current owner, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Britain.

Scholarly estimates of the number of Michelangelo drawings found around the world vary - from about 350 to upwards of 750 - with no more than 10 believed to be in the United States.

"Michelangelo and His Influence: Drawings from Windsor Castle" temporarily augments this small figure, with 22 drawings on 18 sheets by Michelangelo, and more than four dozen inspired works by his contemporaries. The exhibition remains on display in the museum's East Building through Jan. 5, 1997.

Certainly, few artists in history invoke as much universal reverence and renown as Michelangelo.

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in the Tuscan town of Caprese, Italy, on March 6, 1475. He lived in Florence and Rome during the height of the Renaissance, working at various times as a sculptor, a painter and, later in life, as an architect. Throughout these various periods, however, he continued to make drawings.

Michelangelo's fellow artists held him in high regard. Many of them fashioned direct copies of his compositions, while others produced renderings closely based on his subject matter. Some merely borrowed from his work, creating their own stirring interpretations.

The display opens with a look at "Ideal Heads," portraits based on both historical and imaginary figures. The centerpiece of this section is an alluring two- sided depiction of the Virgin Mary by Michelangelo.

Surrounding this sublime image are a series of profile renditions by other artists who derived their manner not only from Michelangelo's work, but also from a style of portraiture practiced during the Renaissance.

Highlighting two successive galleries are a choice selection of Michelangelo's presentation drawings, those he made as gifts to others.

Among the noteworthy works found here is a sophisticated three-tier drawing, "The Fall of Phaeton (1533)," depicting the ill-fated chariot ride by the son of Apollo, which Michelangelo produced as gift for Tommaso de' Cavalieri, a young Roman aristocrat of whom the artist was deeply enamored.

Close by, an interpretation of Phaeton by Raffaello da Montelupo is much more condensed, with the imagery located beneath a previously drawn architectural form.

A beautiful red chalk drawing by Michelangelo, "The Archers (c. 1530)," is complemented by a near virtually perfect copy of the same image crafted by Bernardino Cesari, rougly 70 years after Michelangelo executed the original.

Another special work that Michelangelo made for Cavalieri is a unique two-sided black chalk drawing that not only inspired two likewise versions by other artists included here, but also provides an insight to the master's creative process.

The recto, or front side, of "Tityus (1532)" shows the son of Zeus, chained to a rock and under attack from a large, tenacious bird - his punishment for the attempted rape of the children of Leto. On its verso, or backside, Michelangelo traced his own image of Tityus, and rearranged the figure as a preliminary sketch for another drawing on display, "The Risen Christ (1532)."

A spirited pen-and-ink version of a Hercules battling the Hydra by the pre- eminent Raphael accents a section devoted to the influence of Michelangelo's sculptures and highly detailed anatomical drawings.
Whether entire or in part, Michelangelo's famed depictions of the human form clearly reflect his astute understanding of the body and physical movement.

"He could do more with the human body, I think, than any other artist before or since," said Paul Joannides, art historian at the University of Cambridge and author of the exhibition's catalogue. "He could ring a greater range of emotion, a greater range of spiritual expression, from the bend of a wrist, or the bend of a knee ..."

The show concludes with an survey of works by other artists based on Michelangelo's biblical depictions - images inspired not so much by his drawings as by his illustrious paintings, especially those which grace the interior of the Sistine Chapels in the Vatican.

Without doubt, the exhibit provides a rich wealth of brilliant drawings that truly lend to the greatness of High Renaissance art. They also underscore and pay tribute to the phenomenal genius of one of history's greatest creative masters.

The National Gallery of Art is on Constitution Avenue between 7th and 3rd streets N.W. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is free.

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